


Not a Master

by Andromeda612



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Butterfly Marc, Gen, Good Friend Marc Anciel, Marc Is An Angel, Miraculous Holder Marc Anciel, Monarka, Nooroo deserves better, no beta we die like man
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-16 21:16:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29831046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Andromeda612/pseuds/Andromeda612
Summary: Nooroo escaped from Gabriel and found himself in the company of a certain shy writer, who could guess things could end like this? Or that could change a master for a friend?
Relationships: Marc Anciel & Nooroo
Comments: 12
Kudos: 30





	Not a Master

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kapane_luyeshu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kapane_luyeshu/gifts).



> This fic is inspired by the work of @Kapane_Luyeshu she made the original concept, we brainstormed a little and I just couldn't shake the idea out of my brain XD so here we are.  
> You can see the post with the original concept here: https://kapane-luyeshu.tumblr.com/post/640338244854317056/marc-with-the-butterfly-miraculous-is-finally?is_highlighted_post=1

Nooroo is hiding in his new dolls house while eating his favorite marshmallows, waiting for his new holder’s friends to finish their homework. 

Marc received Alix and Nathaniel that afternoon because they were having some trouble with math homework, the writer being the patient and good friend he is didn't think twice to offer to tutor them, which they gladly accepted. 

The little kwami takes a peek through one of the house’s windows, he smiles seeing Marc looking so relaxed with his best friends and has to hide a giggle at seeing the small blush on his and Nathaniel’s cheeks, just like his friends Nooroo is waiting excitedly for the comic duo to finally stop dancing around each other and just date already, their feelings are so obvious except for the teens themselves. 

As the kwami of transmission gets comfortable in the small pillow Marc made for him— hand knitted— he can’t help but remember how he ended up with his current mast… no, not his master, with his new friend. 

Since waking up after more than two hundred years to be practically enslaved by a supervillain, Nooroo’s live have been a roller coaster of mixed feelings and worries, in one hand he knows the consequences of using a miraculous for evil and the price of the wish Gabriel wants, on the other he also understands his master’s motivations, he just miss his wife, he just wants to bring her back so he and his son can be a family again.

And still he was making all the wrong decisions, he was too attached to the past he couldn’t see what he has now, he couldn’t see his son’s sorrow at being so distant from his father, he couldn’t see Nathalie’s love, a love that was sincere and selfless, he couldn’t see he and Adrien could still be a family, that he could make it bigger if he gave his assistant a chance, he couldn’t see all the damage and pain he was causing to his victim as Hawk Moth, he couldn’t see the unnecessary stress he was subjecting into the young heroes, he couldn’t see the darkness that was slowly consuming him from the inside, he couldn’t see the misery he had brought upon his kwami, he couldn’t see the possibility of his plan ending horribly wrong. 

There were so many things he couldn’t see, Nooroo was each day more afraid that his master would get into a no returning path if he continued this way. 

With each passing day and each defeat Gabriel was growing more desperate, and with that he was becoming more reckless, more impulsive and more cruel. 

He cared less about who he hurts, about how he got the emotions he needed to create powerful akumas, and not to mention the akumas itselfs which were becoming more and more dangerous, more violent, more reckless, more chaotic. 

Poor Ladybug and Chat Noir had been having some trouble defeating them recently, even when they called for other heroes to help. 

The fights were more difficult now that Duusu’s miraculous was repaired and he could use it with no worries, speaking of which, once his brooch was repaired Duuus was healed as well— the effects of the broken miraculous made him inestable and his mind a chaos— once he recovered his senses he was heartbroken at seeing how his miraculous was being used, and then Gabriel also made him a slave, giving him the same restrictions Nooroo had, the purple kwami was sad for his friend, especially because they were powerless against Gabriel, they could do nothing, just hope for the better but that didn’t made the wait any less painful for the poor kwamis.

At one point he really thought the nightmare would never end, until that day when Gabriel made a mistake. 

Even when the new information about the miraculous and Duusu’s brooch repaired Gabriel wasn’t any near to his goal, in his desperation he didn’t stop to think about how much damage he could do to someone's mind or live to get what he wanted. 

Like that poor designer who was making his professional practices in his company. 

The guy was brilliant, a true talent, he was smart, creative not just in his designs but in the business area as well, his sharp mind and endless imagination made them a wonderful worker… and a wonderful akuma. 

Just like with that girl friend of Adrien— Marinette— the potential was huge, too good to be wasted, but after the failed attempts to akumatize her Gabriel didn’t want to lose any chances with this guy. 

So he decided to go without mercy with him, he would found any excuse to critic him, and if he didn’t find one he would invent one, he was harsh, even when he did a perfect job Gabriel always had some destructive critic to say, he would humiliate him in front of other workers, he would shred him into pieces, underestimate his talent, destroy his self esteem, in one word Gabriel was  **cruel** with the poor boy. 

And he managed to break him, the emotions were so strong that he was able to create a powerful akuma... maybe too powerful. 

He was the villain’s main target but he was so sure about his plan to feel worried— just like with Simon Says— but soon things got out of his control. 

At some point he had to get out his lair, with the villain coming after him it could be suspicious if he breaks into the mansion and he was nowhere to be found. Ladybug and Chat Noir soon arrived at the mansion— after seeing the destruction the akuma was causing on his way there— it was like a deja vu, with the difference the akuma this time was ten times more dangerous and madder than the previous one that was targeting him. With control over sharp, big and threatening needles and threads that could cut steel and his heart and hopes broken into pieces this villain was the most feral they had faced so far. 

It didn’t take much for him to kidnap the designer, with Ladybug and Chat Noir tired and hurt Gabriel was starting to wonder if it was a good idea to give such powers to an akuma that was targeting him. 

Wanting to humiliate the man as much as he humiliate him, the villain brought him to the TV station to show his doom to all of Paris. For once not feeling as confident, Gabriel understood that this situation was too dangerous and decided to remove the akuma, he still had the brooch and Nooro was hidden in his jacket, they were alone and the akuma was too focused trying to decipher how the cameras worked to pay attention to him, besides after removing the akuma the boy wouldn’t remember anything, if he was asked he just had to say he managed to break free and break the akuma’s object. It was simple: transform, remove the akuma and destransfrom quickly. 

But things didn’t go as planned, he was tied by the akuma’s threads, when he tried to free one of his arms to remove his handkerchief the movement alerted the akuma who didn’t think twice to attack him. 

By some miracle Gabriel managed to break free from the threads but the akuma attacking him didn’t give any chance to transform and during the fight he didn’t notice his brooch falling nor the purple blur that flew out of the TV station. 

The man was getting incredibly tired, he had some cuts and blows on his body, he was sure his shoulder was at least sprained. Just as he was about to get stabbed by one of the villain’s needles Ladybug and Chat Noir arrived to save him. 

“Mr. Agreste go hide to a safer place!” Chat Noir screamed at him as he and Ladybug dodged the akuma’s attacks. For once Gabriel did as he was told and ran out the studio. Once safe and out of sight he was ready to transform and end that madness once and for all, not even caring anymore about the possibility of this akuma finally defeating his enemies, this was a mistake. 

“Nooroo, dark wings rise!” he exclaimed but nothing happened, he looked at himself, he still had his clothes. 

“Nooroo, what do you think you are doing?!” He screamed but got no answer. 

“Nooroo?” He looked around, searching for his kwami, where was he? He shouldn’t be able to be more than some meters away from him, unless… 

Panic started to rise in him, he raised his hand to his chest where his brooch usually was just to feel  _ nothing _ . 

His brooch, the miraculous… it was gone. 

Even more panicked he looked around frenetically, this couldn’t be happening! Seeing nothing he decided to go back to the studio, the brooch must have fallen off during his fight with the akuma, it was risky but he couldn’t lose the miraculous. 

From outside the studio he heard the battle sounds, when he opened the door he could see Chat Noir was having a hard time facing the villain and Ladybug was nowhere to be seen, probably she went to look for some hero to help them. 

Carefully he went inside and started to look around with the hope of finding his miraculous. 

He had not such luck, the brooch nor Nooroo weren’t there, this was bad, this was a nightmare! 

Just as he was spiraling in panic Ladybug arrived with a new ox themed hero. The fight kept going for what felt forever, even with the new hero the teens were having a hard time, Gabriel could see they were tired, Chat Noir and Ladybug had already some cuts and the blonde hero had a bleeding lip, despite the heroine’s color suit he could see some blood stains, the place was slowly falling apart, even the new hero was starting to get some bruises. 

Finally, Ladybug got a rest from the villain to summon her lucky charm, from his hiding spot Gabriel couldn’t see what she got but for once he hoped the heroes would save the day, hoping that, maybe, the cure would bring his miraculous back. 

Ladybug made a complex plan, and just when it seemed they were about to win the villain managed to trap every hero with his threats, they were at his mercy, the akuma slowly walked to Ladybug, ready to take the earrings, it was a bittersweet moment for the designer, for once one of his akumas was successful but without his miraculous there was no way for him to get the jewelry, at least not in an easy— and not suicidal— way. 

Just when the villain was just some meters away from the heroine a white butterfly came out the akuma’s collar— which was previously the boy’s intern ID— then a dark mist engulfed the villain leaving the poor intern designer in his place, the needles and thread disappeared and the heroes were free. 

All of them were confused— the heroes and the former villain— why would Hawk Moth call back the akuma? Meanwhile Gabriel is completely _ panicking _ , the akuma was removed but he didn’t have the miraculous, he wasn’t the one who called it back, that just meant someone else did because Nooroo couldn’t have done so— not when he didn’t made the akuma himself— he needed a holder to do it. 

Which meant Nooroo escaped and, apparently, found someone to remove the akuma. This wasn’t good, this could complicate all his plans! 

After making sure the victim was right, Ladybug finally threw her lucky charm into the air and summoned her cure, this was his last hope, he saw as the magical ladybugs rushed over and out the place, fixing everything, they went over him, healing his injuries, once they were gone he immediately looked for the brooch, but it wasn’t there, not on his shirt, not in his pockets, not in the floor, the miraculous was still gone. 

He lost the miraculous.

The moment his master was kidnapped Nooroo knew something bad would happen… but for some reason that feeling didn’t worry him, it was strange, he didn't feel anything at all, maybe the small worry for his master’s well being, but besides that the possibility of something that will upset Gabriel didn’t raise any flags for him. 

And then… the brooch fell off, and he was free… he was  _ free _ . 

The moment the miraculous left Gabriel’s shirt fabric the power over him was lifted, it felt like the door of his cage was finally open and he didn’t think twice to grab his miraculous and fly as fast as he could, just wanting to be far from his master. 

He was acting on automatic, just flying with no specific path, he kept going until fatigue took over him and he landed in what seemed to be a balcony. Just then, with him seated in the railing of the balcony and feeling tired, the reality of what he did hit him. He escaped. 

He really escaped, he was no longer with Gabriel, the brooch was out of his master’s hands, he was free… and it felt nice. 

Still taking into his new situation, the small god decided to take a look at the place where he was resting, it was indeed a balcony, there was a small bench painted in dark grey, he could also see some pots with colorful flowers and a little table near the bench. 

He also spotted a little cat sleeping under the bench, it had orange, white and black fur, it was cute. He would have kept looking around the nice balcony if not for the boy that suddenly opened the door that led to the house and started to look around the place. 

Nooroo went to hide behind one of the pots but still he kept an eye on the boy… the guy was… interesting, and he wasn’t referring to his bright red hoodie or his messy pitch black hair, what caught Nooroo’s attention was his aura. 

Maybe he was exposed to Gabriel’s cold and stoic aura for too much time but this boy’s aura felt so warm and nice, he was sure if Duusu were here he would be delighted. The aura was welcoming and kind, the butterfly kwami could just stare with curiosity, the boy was searching for something until he looked under the bench. 

“Salem, here you are! Come here is not safe to be outside with that akuma” He said as he took the cat— who is apparently his pet— then he went inside the house again, Nooroo couldn't help but follow the boy closely, like a moth attracted to the light. 

Next thing he knew he was inside what seemed to be the boy’s room, it was nice, with pastel green walls, posters, photos and drawings adorning them, a huge bookshelf filled with books and comics, some cute forniture in dark wood, a colorful bed a lots of action figures and plushies adorning the place. 

The boy was seated in his bed with his cat cradled between his arms, he had a laptop in front of him showing the news about the akuma. Hearing the sounds of the battle Nooroo snapped out of his trance and also looked at the screen, a wave of guilt rushed over him, the fight seemed very hard, specially for his master, with every blow, cut and sign of pain the little kwami couldn’t help but think that maybe it was a bad idea to left his holder. 

The akuma was too powerful, calling back the butterfly was the fastest and safest option but he didn’t make that akuma, he couldn’t remove it on his own, for that a holder was needed. 

As the minutes passed by, he was even more convinced the akuma needed to be removed. Even when Gabriel was finally out of danger, the heroes were having trouble defeating the villain, it was when Ladybug left, probably to go for help, that an idea crossed his mind. 

He needed someone to call back the akuma, but who? That’s when he looked at the boy who’s aura felt so gentle. It was a crazy idea, but it was better than nothing. 

He knew he didn’t even know the teen, but his aura… it was a good one, similar to some of his previous holders, similar to heroes themselves. Besides, what is what humans say? Desperate situations require desperate solutions? 

And Kwami knew this situation was a desperate one, he himself was scared— after being trapped so long with a master like Gabriel who could blame him? — but… who knows if the heroes could continue like this. 

Taking a deep breath Nooroo approached the teen, being closer he could see his face better and he recognized him as the former Reverser. He remembered that day, the villain was smart and the emotions emanating from the teen were strong, the sadness, the heartbroken, the kwami felt bad for him that day. 

But that also confirmed him that he was making the right choice, even under the control of the dark magic of his master he could still feel some of the boy’s kindness, something inside him told him this boy could help. 

“This akuma seems really dangerous… I hope they won’t get too hurt” The boy muttered lowly, Nooroo decided to take that moment to make his presence known. 

“You could help them if you want” A pitched voice said out of nowhere. Marc jumped from the surprise, accidentally dropping Salem in the process— fortunately the cat fell on the bed— the writer looked around, searching for the source of the tiny voice. 

“I-I’m right here” they said and just then Marc noticed the big purple butterfly floating just centimeters away from him. 

The boy honestly didn’t know how to react, there was a huge purple butterfly thing floating in his room, he even pinched his arm just to make sure he was still awake and not dreaming or hallucinating, feeling the little pain he knew that  _ indeed _ , he was very awake. Awesome. 

“Wh-what is happening, who a-are you? What are y-you?!” He managed to say between the surprise and the confusion. Nooroo took a moment to organize his ideas, he needed to stop the akuma but also make sure to not scare or overwhelm the boy. 

“I’m Nooroo and I’m a kwami, I give powers through my miraculous, you could transform just like Ladybug and Chat Noir and help!” the little god explained, the noiret for his part had to take some seconds to process the bunch of information that was just thrown at him. 

A kwami? He doesn’t know what a kwami is but he understood the part about the powers and most important, he catched the part about the miraculous. Just like Ladybug and Chat Noir, and just like Hawk Moth or Mayura. It was just as that thought crossed his mind that the young boy noticed the brooch the kwami was holding. 

It was a very familiar brooch, one he and the rest of Paris had the opportunity to see just twice in the past when the magical terrorist of the city made public appearances, the same brooch Nathaniel draws whenever Hawk Moth appears in their comic. 

If Marc was handling decently well so far, he felt like fainting now that the reality about what the brooch Nooroo was holding actually sinked in him. 

“W-wait… I-is that…?” Knowing very well what the teen meant, the kwami of transmision simply sighed and hoped for the boy to not freak out and to access to transform. 

“Yeah, it is” the kwami stated, Marc immediately panicked a little— which was understable— but the small god knew they didn’t have time for this. “I know you must have lots of questions and that this is too sudden, I promise I’ll explain later but now Paris needs you!” his voice was filled with all the desperation he was feeling. 

That made Marc stop for a moment and put aside his panic— if just a little bit— if he was weak to something, it was to people who needed help— because he has been there and knew how it felt to want for a friendly hand to help you— and this little thing seemed like they really needed some help. 

“Please, I beg you, the akuma needs to be stopped!” Marc really couldn't just ignore how distressed the little being sounded, besides he had to admit this villain was really hard to fight, if the clear fatigue in the heroes was anything to go by. Something had to be done… and this little thing— who could give him powers— apparently thought he could help. 

Against his best judgment and the anxiety raising inside him, Marc got closer to the butterfly and tried to put on his bravest face. 

“Wh-what do you m-mean? And h-how can I help?” the writer asked, still wanting at least some information about all of this. Nooroo immediately brightened at hearing him, the boy was scared he could tell, but he was willing to help and that was all he needed. 

“As you could see this akuma is very powerful and very dangerous too, even if we have faith in Ladybug and Chat Noir the battle has been hard and they already seem tired” The butterfly kwami started, watching carefully at the young boy, Marc nodded making him know he was listening. “The safest thing to do is to call back the akuma, but as you can see Hawk Moth is not in power of the butterfly miraculous anymore and I can’t remove the butterfly on my own, I need a holder to transform and connect with the akuma so the butterfly can be removed and purified” 

The writer connected the dots, to say the conclusion worried him was an understatement. 

“A-and you want m-me to d-do i-it?” he stammered with his voice shaking.    
  


“Please! We don’t have much time, I promise it will be fine and you just need to call back the butterfly” so yeah, the kwami really wanted  _ him _ to transform and call back the akuma. 

Marc really wanted to help the little creature, he looked so desperate, but using Hawk Moth’s miraculous? Besides he was just… him, was he really the right option? 

Like reading his mind, Nooroo decided to encourage the writer, he knew the boy could do it fine, he just needed a little push. 

“I know this is scary, but there is no time and I don’t know how prudent would be to go find another person, I know you can do this, you have a kind aura, I remember you from Reverser, even when you were a villain I still could reach to your gentleness, powers don’t make a hero but their heart and will to help others because is the right thing and I know you have it in yourself, please…” Nooroo made sure to look the boy in the eyes, despite his hurry for clean the mess his former master made what he said next was completely the truth, even if he didn’t know Marc, just for this simple yet important task “I trust you” 

Marc… was still pretty much stunned but he couldn’t dismiss the kwami’s words, at least the part about the time and if it was really a good idea to go looking for another person, the writer looked at the screen on his laptop, Ladybug just arrived with a new hero, however, she and Chat Noir already looked exhausted and the villain seemed angrier. 

The green-eyed boy looked again at the kwami, their eyes were pleading and he knew he couldn’t leave him like this. He was scared but so was the creature, he needed to make the right thing. 

“F-fine, I g-gues I can handle it, What I have to do?” Nooroo automatically perked up at the boy’s words. 

“You need to transform to call back the butterfly, don’t worry is actually easier that it seems, once transformed you have to concentrate to connect with the victim, it will be easy to find the source of the akuma since it’s connected with the miraculous, once you make the link you just need to call back the butterfly and release the energy that make it an akuma, you will know exactly how on instinct” Nooroo explained as fast as he could. 

Marc was processing the new information: transform, connect with the villain— which was not scary at all, not a little bit— call back the butterfly and release the energy, and apparently he will just know how to do it. Okay, he can do this. 

“Okay, I-I get it, h-how do I transform?” Without missing a bit, Nooroo fastened the miraculous in Marc’s shirt, it changed its appearance, instead of the simple purple stone Gabriel used to wear it looked like a rainbow opal with small metal vines adorning its contour. 

“To transform say Nooroo, wings rise, to destransform say wings fall!” Marc looked for a second surprised at the change in the brooch but quickly returned his eyes to Nooroo. 

“O-okay” is all he managed to say. 

“Are you ready?” Nooroo asked, an encouraging smile adoring his face, Marc swallowed and nodded, it's now or never. 

“Nooroo, wings rise!” As soon as the last word left his mouth the kwami was sucked into the brooch and a wave of energy rushed over him. It felt strange but it was nice. 

When the magic disappeared Marc’s clothes were replaced by a fancy looking suit, he had fingerless purple gloves, a soft lavender dressing shirt and dressing pants of the same color, he was using a purple tailcoat vest, with two small stones hanging from the edges of the neck and knee boots with a small heel of the same color as the vest and gloves; he was also wearing a big ribbon knotted around his waist, it has the same shade of lavender as his shirt and it was made of sheer fabric, the tail of the ribbon was similar to the dragon butterfly’s wings. Finally was his face, he had a masquerade mask painted on his skin in the same color palette as his suit, his eyes also changed, they were now lavender— with his pupils in the shape of flowers— with the sclera in purple. Also his hair was a little longer with the tips dyed in purple. In his hand he had the same cane Hawk Moth used as a weapon. 

Marc looked at himself, okay he had to admit this was pretty cool and he liked the clothes. Though, not having Nooroo there made him a little nervous, at least the kwami knew what he was talking about. 

A loud noise coming from his laptop made him snap out of his mind, right, there was no time for this. He closed his eyes and just like Nooroo told him he concentrated, he let his mind focus on what he was looking for until he found it, the villain. 

He took a deep breath and connected with the villain. It was— in a single word— overwhelming, he could feel the emotions emanating from them, he could feel the sorrow, the rage, the frustration, the heartbroken… What happened to this person to become an akuma? 

The teen had to take a seat for a moment, is this how Hawk Moth feels or is just that this person in particular was too upset? Another loud noise coming from the screen made him collect himself, what he saw on the screen made him know he needed to be quick, the villain had the heroes trapped in their threats and was going for Ladybug’s earrings. 

He stood up more determined and focused all his mind in calling back the butterfly, like the kwami told him he instinctively knew how to do it, he could feel the link with the akuma and ordered it to leave the villain, he opened his eyes and looked at his laptop in time to see a dark butterfly flying out the villain’s collar, in mid air the akuma was purified and was now a white common butterfly; a dark mist engulfed the villain leaving in his place a confused guy some years older than him. 

The threads trapping the heroes disappeared as well, all of them had confused expressions but were relieved nonetheless, Ladybug the most. 

Soon, Marc could see the magical ladybugs rushing all over the city, the cure fixing everything the akuma destroyed. Once everything was back to normal and the heroes were talking with the victim, Marc called his detransformation. 

“Nooroo, wings fall!” A wave of magic rushed over him again, this time destransforming him and bringing his usual clothes back, Nooroo flew out the brooch and landed tiredly in the bed. 

Marc seated beside the kwami and looked at him excitedly. “I did it! I really did it!” Nooroo lifted his head and smiled tiredly at the boy, he knew he made the right choice. Noticing his state, Marc moved closer and addressed the kwami in a soft tone. 

“Hey, are you okay? You seem drained” 

“I’m fine, it's just… us kwami need to eat after every transformation” The teen hummed softly as he offered his hands for the tired being to rest on. 

“Here, we can find something for you in the kitchen” Nooroo is taken back for the kind gesture, normally if he ended up this tired after one of Gabriel’s attempts to get the miraculous, he would just order him to follow back to the office— no matter how drained the kwami felt— once in the room he would order Nathalie to look for something for him and when she comes back— with whatever she found, it didn’t matter if Nooroo liked it nor not— just then he could eat. Now he didn’t have to wait too long and he didn’t have to fly around when he felt so tired. 

A little hesitant, the kwami slowly seated in the gloved hands, they felt warm; Marc held him carefully, as if he was made of crystal, he cupped him in his hands and Nooroo couldn’t help the nice feeling in his little chest. Where was the last time a human was so kind to him? During his time with the designer he would always remember those times when he had holders that were true heroes, those memories accompanied by the longing of masters that weren’t slavers, that treated him with respect. 

Nooroo snapped out of his thoughts as they arrived at the kitchen. Marc carefully settled him in the kitchen’s table and looked at him, his eyes were soft, his smile was friendly, he looked at him like it was his responsibility to make sure the kwami was okay, like he  _ cared. _ Nooroo has heard hundreds of times his former master rant about how teenagers were all noisy troublemakers— except for his perfect son of course— simple brats… maybe he never met teenagers like the boy in front of him then, because this teen so far has been quite the contrary of what Gabriel thought, Nooroo would even dare to say that he remembered to the nannies that were so famous for their care during olden times. 

“What would you like to eat? In my family we love to cook so we have plenty of things here so you have room to choose” Marc asked, with some curiosity about what a being like Nooroo eats. 

The kwami for his part is taken back for the second time in such a short time. The boy… he asked him what he wanted to eat. He could choose. Not a lucky roulette to see if this time he would get something that he would like, not eat this just because. He. Could.  _ Choose _

_ This boy was an angel?! _

“Is something wrong, Nooroo?” He asked gently, Nooroo is brought back from his stupor. 

“Uh-uh I’m fine, uh… I… I like sweets, oh! My former holder before Hawk Moth, she was a chocolatier” Feeling that maybe he was just being a little demanding the kwami adds with a small voice “I-if that’s okay, I don’t want to bother” 

But Marc was already looking through the cupboard with an idea in mind of what to do, after some seconds he settled on the table chocolate, marshmallow and cookies.

“I also love sweets and chocolates are my favorites! My family and friends say I’m like a toddler in a candy store without supervision” A blush appeared on the teen’s cheeks, surely because he felt a little embarrassed at the comparison, Nooroo couldn’t help the little giggle that escaped from his mouth, thought he immediately shut up, feared that maybe he crossed a line. However, Marc was just smiling at him, he could even say he was happy… for  _ him _ , if the tiny bit of emotions he could sense was something to go by. 

“I’ll make smores for us, it will take just some minutes okay?” Nooroo simply nodded, and watched the boy prepare the sweets. The atmosphere was calm and nice, Marc was humming softly a melody Nooroo didn't know but he liked it, his aura was as warm as it was since the moment he saw him. 

After ten minutes Marc took a seat in front of him and put a plate with some… those were cookies? But they looked more like sandwiches of some sort, since they had the chocolate and the marshmallows inside, needless to say it looked delicious. 

Nooroo all but devoured the treats, they were so delightful! And Marc never chastised him for taking more than one! After the plate was empty and Marc cleaned the kitchen, he offered his hands one more time to travel, this time Nooroo was less hesitant to sit on them, they went to the writer’s room, there were still some things to talk about.

“Are you feeling better?” 

“Yeah, thank you… eh” is just at that point that Nooroo remembered he never got the boy’s name. 

“Marc” the human answered, smiling. 

“Thank you, Young Marc” He replied politely, like a good employee, just like his previous master demanded him. Marc looked a little surprised at the honorific but he brushed it off. 

“You are welcome, Nooroo, and just Marc is okay” He said kindly, then he took a deep breath, here came the important stuff. 

“I know this must be hard for you but… How… How did you escape from Hawk Moth? What happened?” he asked softly, Nooroo swallowed a little, it was a hard topic, but he owed the boy an explanation, after helping him with the akuma it was the least he could do. 

“Well… “ Nooroo explained everything, at least everything he could. He explained that due to the magic of the miraculous it was physically impossible for him to give names or any clue about his former holder’s identity. Still, he could give some good information, from how Gabriel found him and Duusu, why he was behind the miraculous, how the bad use of his brooch was slowly corrupting him, how he was treated, the consequences of his goals, how he escaped— of course he had to give a version without too many details, otherwise he just spat bubbles— he said his holder had to destransform and between the chaos the villain was causing in all the city he end up caught in the mess and the brooch fell off. 

Marc was understanding about his previous master’s intention but was also mad about the way Nooroo was basically a slave. After everything was clear, they decided that the wisest way to act was to wait for a chance to get Ladybug’s attention, which was probably going to take a while, the heroes usually just appear for attacks and taking on account that Nooroo was free Hawk Moth may want some time to plan or whatever. 

Until then the kwami will stay with Marc, the brooch heavily— at least as heavily as a teeneger can afford— secured in Marc’s room. 

As the days went by, and then transformed into weeks, Nooroo was sure he had never felt so fine in his long life, living under the care of the shy writer was something else. The boy was really sweet, he was very thoughtful about the kwami, always taking care of him, making sure he was eating enough and he liked what he ate, making sure he had a soft place to sleep, he treated Nooroo like an equal, the kwami learned to be respectful towards Gabriel out of fear and the inability of disobey commands, but with Marc he was respectful because he really respected the boy. Marc felt really nice about it, though he still wished Nooroo would call him by just his name instead of using ‘Young’ or any other honorific. 

During that time they learned a lot about each other, Marc learned that Nooroo was very polite and kind, that he had a sweet tooth as huge as his own, that he liked to sleep above his fox plushie, that he liked to read, especially Marc’s stories, that he liked to ask questions when he saw something new, that the kwami really needed a friend and he was more than happy to be that, his friend. 

Nooroo learned Marc’s parents traveled a lot due to their works but there were always somehow present in their son’s life, even if just through a screen, they really cared and loved him, they were nothing like Gabriel and when they were home every second was precious for the three of them, he learned Marc was good with house tasks, especially with cooking and baking, that he had other hobbies aside from writing and reading like knotting and singing, he learned he had a beautiful voice and found himself being lulled into sleep whenever he had a nightmare, he learned Marc was in love with his best friend Nathaniel… he thought it was endearing. 

Both of them also learned they enjoyed each other’s company. 

It was almost a month after Nooroo came into Marc’s life that Hawk Moth— or whatever he called himself now— attacked again, a sentimonster of plants that had the poor man whose emotions were used to create the creature trapped in a cage of vines and thorns. It didn’t surprise Nooroo, Duusu’s powers didn’t need the consentiment of the targets to create a sentimonster from their emotions, so to avoid the victim to just break their object and hand the amok they needed to take them hostages. 

As the fight developed the kwami had just one thought… he didn’t want to leave Marc. 

He wanted to stay with him, even if his original plan was to go with Ladybug… now that idea didn’t make him relieved, it made him sad. Maybe he was under Gabriel’s iron fist for too much, maybe he craved the nice treatment, the only thing he knew for sure was that he wanted to stay with the writer and maybe, if he was okay with it, let him wear his miraculous, after all he did a good job the last time and he already had the heart of a good hero. 

But he didn’t know if he should do what he wanted, was he being selfish? Wasn’t going to Ladybug the responsible thing to do? But staying with Marc… the idea felt so right, maybe it was just a wishful thought? 

A loud noise snapped him out of his thoughts, they were in Marc’s room watching the fight in the teen’s laptop, he had a feeling of deja vu when he saw how hard things were for the heroes, the sentimonster was out for blood and what made things more difficult was that it had a person inside as hostage, the heroes needed to be super careful. 

The more he saw the battle the more it was obvious they needed help, something that could take down the plant’s attacks, maybe something that could froze it? Or maybe paralyze it? Or wither it? But surely Ladybug could go for another miraculous that would help… thought... she couldn’t, not when Chat Noir was trapped too for the thorns and vines and she couldn’t leave the sentimonster to cause havoc. 

Then an idea hit him… maybe this was a signal? 

“We need to help” He said, but the sentence sounded duplicated, another voice said just the same and he found himself and Marc watching each other with wide eyes, so they were on the same page? Perfect! 

A more determined look made its way into his small face. “You know what to do!” Marc nodded but before he could transform Nooroo said something more. 

“W-wait!” Marc looked at him to let him know he was listening. “Could you please… not go to Ladybug after this? Just stay here” Marc looked surprised at first but soon his face softened and he simply nodded at the request, then he said the words and transformed. 

* * *

At the end of the day Ladybug managed to defeat the sentimonster with the help of Herbicide, Marc’s champion who was the victim’s niece. 

After Marc called back the akuma Ladybug and Chat Noir were really stunned at seeing the now yellow? butterfly— It seemed any butterfly could be used for an akuma— fly from the girl’s garden gloves— they thought she was probably just another person with powers, after their trip to New York the possibility was always in their minds— they asked if she was alright, to their surprise the girl was smiling brightly, feeling proud of helping the heroes to save her uncle. 

“Wait, Hawk Moth helped us to defeat a sentimonster?” Chat Noir asked, completely lost, Ladybug wasn’t any better, that didn’t make sense, the girl's voice gave them some answers… as well as more questions. 

“Uh, it was not Hawk Moth, I’m sure, their voice was so sweet! Absolutely nothing to do with the cold voice of the villain, besides they sounded younger and far too nice to be a villain like him, they were the reason I could help you guys, I thought you finally took back Hawk Moth’s miraculous and give it to another hero?”

So this person was not Hawk Moth… what happened? 

“Do you know anything else about them? They didn’t say their name?” Ladybug asked, the girl smiled at her. 

“Monarka” She said, then she added. “I don’t know what is happening, but I think is a good thing, Monarka really seems like a true hero” 

* * *

“So, why did you want me to stay? I thought you wanted to go with Ladybug?” Marc asked softly once the transformation was dropped, Nooroo was on his hands looking tired and a little shy. 

“I wanted to b-but…” Nooroo trailed off, it was this okay? Marc just waited patiently for him, the warmth of his aura and the care in his eyes were enough for the kwami to finally voice his thoughts. “I-I want to stay… with you” he whispered so quietly that if not was for the fact Marc was so close, he would have missed it. 

Marc smiled. “I also wanted you to stay” he admitted shyly, Nooroo looked up at him surprised. 

“R-really?” 

Marc nodded “Yeah, I guess I got fond of your company and I really think I would miss you”

The kwami immediately perked up at that. “This means I can stay?” Marc giggled a little and nodded happily. Feeling confident, Nooroo shared his other idea. 

“Also… would you like to keep using the brooch?” Marc seemed just a little taken back by that but he was excited nonetheless.

“A-are you sure?” He asked, Nooroo beamed at him. 

“Yes! You did such a wonderful job so far and you saw it, you were a huge help there… so what do you say?” 

Marc thought for a moment, not gonna lie, he really liked being able to help the heroes, and he even had his name, after the girl asked it went to his mind fastly and he liked it.  _ Monarka _ . Besides if Nooroo trusted him then it was okay. 

“I’ll do it” Nooroo couldn’t help but hug Marc’s cheek, the boy gladly returned the embrace. 

“Thank you so much, Master!” the kwami exclaimed gladly, Marc just sighed, right… they would need to work on that. 

“Nooroo, you don’t have to call me master, just Marc is okay, we are friends!” He said softly while cupping the little being in his hands, Nooroo looked at him confused. 

“B-but… Master!” 

Yeah… they have a long path, but they could go through it together. 

After that the rainbow opal brooch was a constant in Marc’s appearance as much as his red hoodie, he and Nooroo took time to talk about his powers, he learned a lot, like the butterflies for akumas didn’t need to be white, he could use any kind of butterfly. Hawk Moth only used white ones because they lived fine in dark places— because of course his lair was in a dark place— Marc used the butterflies that lived in his mother’s garden and the ones that liked to stay on his balcony in his own little garden. He also learned he could change the color of the energy he used to charge the akumas, so he started to practice to give colors that would match the emotions he was using and the champion choosed, as well as to create more personalized patterns, so the champions could feel special. 

Some things also changed, like he started to spoil Nooroo just because he could and wanted, the kwami really needed it after being basically a slave. He cleaned and restored his old doll house— which was his mother’s first and she decide to gift it to him some years ago— so Nooroo had a comfortable place to hide when he had visits on his room, he knitted a cute pillow for him, he always had marshmallows at hand for him to eat and smores were almost a tradition for them every night. He even knitted a blanket and little sweaters for him. He gave Nooroo the freedom he needed. The kwami was grateful and happy for that.

Nooroo had a rather hard time trying to call Marc by his first name, Gabriel forced him for such a long time that now it was almost an instinct, but he was trying and that was all that mattered. 

As for the heroes? They received the help from different champions every time they needed. After the battle they always asked the civilians, who always had their memory intact— about Monarka, the answers were pretty much the same every time. 

“They were so kind, even helped me to calm down to be able to help!”

“Their voice is so tender, it holds the care of a mother! Though, they sounded masculine and pretty young…” 

“They were nothing like Hawk Moth! They were too nice to be a villain!” 

“They were patient, at first I was scared but they helped me” 

“I’m so glad Hawk Moth doesn’t have that miraculous anymore, Monarka is a lot better!” 

Those were nice things but the heroes still felt a little off, they don't know much about this new hero and they don’t know how they got the miraculous. But— and this was a big but— they helped them a lot with the sentimonsters so for now they would trust their new ally.

Of course not all things were rose color, for the very first times Monarka sent an akuma some people reacted in fear, like Marinette’s friends from art club, she didn’t even knew there was a sentimonster out there until a cyan butterfly made its way into Nathaniel’s pencil and fused with it, since Monarka was still pretty new not everybody knew about him and some people still thought Hawk Moth was on the loose, since Alya didn’t get a scoop from her last two battles— the ones when Monarka helped— her classmates were still unaware of him, so is was natural for all of them to panic. 

“Come one buddy, you have to fight back, don’t let him control you!” Alix exclaimed desperated as she held Nathaniel from his shoulders. However, Nathaniel didn’t seem scared, more confused than anything. 

“W-wait… you are not Hawk Moth, the voice is too different, besides I wasn’t upset or anything” Everybody was confused and surprised as well. 

“You need my help? Why?” 

“Dude no! You don't know anything about this person!” 

“A sentimonster?” At that all of them pulled out their phones to see the news, indeed there was a sentimonster cousin havoc, it was like a giant and floating ink creature, of course the victim was trapped inside a cage of ink. 

Nathaniel seemed to be listening to the person inside his head, he looked very thoughtful but after some minutes...

“Okay I’ll help you” A lavender dust engulfed him and when it dissipated in his place was Evillustartor, or actually Mightilustartor. 

“Nath?” Alix approached her friend carefully, but the boy seemed pretty fine, actually it was like just his appearance changed, his personality seemed the same. 

“Wow, this is so cool!” The girls shared looks between them and then approached their friend a little more confident. 

“Are you okay, Nath?” Rose asked warily, Nathaniel looked at them and smiled, it was soft, just like the smiles their calm friend would give, anything like the flamboyish they saw when he was Evillustrator. 

“Yeah, I feel just like myself, maybe a little excited because this is insane but… Yeah, I’m fine” Indeed Nathaniel sounded like himself, that relieved them but they were still confused. 

“Wait, you said this is not Hawk Moth, then who is it?” As Alix made the question the purple symbol appeared in Nathaniel’s face. 

“The name is Monarka, and the says he is here to help” 

He? Marinette took notes, now at least they had a gender identity. 

After that Nathaniel, in his hero persona went out the room and Marinette ran to transform, with the help of Mightillustrator the fight was pretty easy and Nathaniel seemed happy for being a hero, after the butterfly was removed it seemed the only thing that didn’t make him too happy was the fact that he hasn’t seen his dear writer all day, 

“I wish Marc was here, I’ll call him I hope he arrived at the art club fine” 

Just for the record, Marc arrived just a little after the battle was done, saying he had to help a friend with their homework, he was very touched that Nathaniel thought about him after the battle and he was also flustered at how Nathaniel said Monarka was cool. 

Soon Monarka was the number one topic on the parisian media, all of the people that were chosen to be a champion were delighted with the new hero, praising him in his kindness and gentle voice. 

With the public acceptance, Monarka made his first appearance during a rather rough battle, Ladybug had to ask for the help of a new Snake holder; Kobra, and the new Ox themed hero called Aldebaran. Still the sentiomnster this time was too chaotic, when they thought the fight was lost a purple figure appeared, standing proud and elegant in front of them. It was Monarka. 

His costume was pretty fancy and unlike them he had his mask painted on his face, he looked… beautiful, if they were to choose a word to describe it. 

The battle was quick from then, he akumatized Ladybug to power her up and in no time the sentimonster held no more power against them. Something to notice too, Monarka was not just elegant in his appearance but in his movements as well, the way he fought, the way he used his cane and the sword inside it, it was almost like a dancing, his lavender and purple eyes and the ribbon around his waist, along with his delicate yet powerful demeanor made him look almost ethereal. 

To say the butterfly themed hero won some admirers that day would be an understatement. Poor Marc had to fight down his bluh every time he heard someone say how awesome and beautiful his hero identity was. 

After the battle was over Monarka officially introduced himself to the heroes, his voice was indeed sweet and it made you feel comfortable around him, they didn’t knew if it was an effect of the miraculous or it was natural on him, still, Ladybug and Chat Noir had some questions, fortunately Monarka was willing to answer. 

“Meet me at the top of the Eiffel Tower tonight at 10:00 p.m please, we will explain everything” And with that he was gone, he also had to run before transforming, Ladybug and Chat Noir were impatient for the night to fall. Ladybug specially thought about how Monarka said we, which must mean Nooroo, the butterfly kwami would also talk to them… that she wanted to see. 

Exactly as the clock marked 10:00 p.m the new hero appeared and greeted them politely. 

“I know you have lots of questions, I know we should have gone to you with the miraculous but… we didn’t want to separate. Nooroo wants to explain it to you” With that Monarka hid under a column and destransformed, Nooroo flew towards the heroes. 

“Ladybug, Chat Noir” he greeted them with a small vow. The heroes' faces softened and they greeted the tiny god back. 

“Hi, Nooroo, it's nice to meet you and to see you free” Ladybug said softly. 

“Thanks, Ladybug… I know I should have come to you as soon as I was free but… I ended up with him and then… I didn’t want to leave…” Nooroo talked in a voice that was so small, all of the three persons present felt their hearts shaking. 

“Is okay, Nooroo, I promise I’m not mad or disappointed, I just want to know what happened” The red hero assured him kindly, like she was talking to Manon when she thought she was mad at her, the kwami sighed relieved and began to explain just the same he already told Marc and then what happened after Monarka’s first transformation, when he called back Hawk Moth’s last akuma until the present day. 

When he was done, Ladybug was smiling softly at him, convinced this was for the best. 

“I’m glad you found someone who could take good care of you and make you feel comfortable, Nooroo if you want to stay with Monarka I won’t interfere” The heroine stated kindly, Nooroo looked at her with sparkles on his eyes. 

“Really?!” The heroes couldn’t help but giggle a little at the kwami’s enthusiasm. 

“Yeah, I meant it” 

“Thank you so much!” He vowed again and then went to Marc, hugging his cheek. Marc returned the embrace and smiled at the kwami, after a nod from him he whispered the transformation words and went back to be Monarka. He stepped out of his hiding place almost shyly.

“Thank you so much, Ladybug, this means a lot” He said in a quiet tone, also making a little vow of his own. 

Ladybug just shook her head. 

“Thanks to you too, Monarka, for taking care of Nooroo and for helping us” She said softly. 

“Yeah, you are a lifesaver, welcome to the team!” Chat Noir exclaimed more excitedly as he held up his fist for him to bump, Ladybug mirroring her partner's actions. Monarka’s eyes lighted up in awe and the tails of his ribbon fluttered like real butterfly wings. Ladybug and Chat Noir exchanged a look sharing the same thought. 

‘ _ Cute _ ’ 

The three heroes fust bumped and then everyone went home. That night Marinette fell asleep feeling lighter, Nooroo was free and even if they still needed to save Duusu and the information Nooroo could tell them was still not enough to get with the villains’ identities, she had a good feeling, things would be better, she knew it. 

After that Monarka started to make more appearances, the sentimonsters that Mayura and the now Dark Paun were very dangerous and the fact that they have to be extra careful because of the people held hostage by said creatures is hard, but they noticed that the former Hawk Moth was getting desperate with every attempt, even more now that he lost the butterfly brooch, which was a double edge sword, even if he got craftier, he also got more likely to make mistakes, like taking any emotion he could even if they were not strong enough to create a sentimonster that would be a challenge for the heroes. 

Some days he could even go out and face the heroes himself, which almost ended in his utter defeat the last two times he tried it. 

Nooroo was doing far better too, he was every day less shy and reserved, he could said his thoughts out loud more confident, he could ask if he wanted somethings, he wasn’t afraid to correct Marc when he was in the wrong— even if a little shy about it but always caring— he was more expressive, slowly becoming the kwami he was before Gabriel. 

The only thing that seemed like a hard habit to break was the master thing, he would always call Marc master, though nowadays he was able to correct himself midword or just use another honorific instead. Marc was always patient and understanding with his little friend, waiting for him to be able to call him just by his name. 

“Nooroo?” The kwami comes back to the present by the voice of his friend and holder. Marc has opened the doll house and is looking at him. 

“Your friends are gone?” He asks, putting aside the last of the marshmallow he was eating. 

“Yeah, Alix recommended this series on Netflix, she says it is about Merlin the sorcerer, wanna watch it with me?” The writer asks already offering his hands for Nooroo to sit, one of the things that living with Marc brought to the kwami was acquiring a liking for anime, series, books and just stories in general, the fantasy ones with lots of magic are his favorites. 

“I’d love to!” He replies happily, taking again his threat and flying to Marc’s waiting hands, however, it seems Gabriel has other plans for them. 

A loud explosion is heard not too many blocks from the writer’s house. They share a look and Nooroo even groans in disappointment! 

“Guess the series will have to wait, ready Nooroo?” Marc asks with a little grin, Nooroo swallows his marshmallow and flies in front of him. 

“Ready, Marc!” he exclaims excited and determined, it takes him just one seconds to process what he just said. 

He called Marc by his name, no master, no honorific, he didn’t even stammer or had to correct himself. He did it, out of the blue and naturally. When he looks at Marc the teen is already watching him, his mouth open in awe and a bright sparkle in his eyes, the writer is watching him like he just told him Nathaniel returned his feelings. He looks really really happy. 

“Nooroo, you called me by my name!!!! This is awesome!” Marc is almost shining from joy, Nooroo has seen him like this just a few times, with the writer being so shy and all, but he never thought he could be the reason for Marc to look like this. 

It is interesting for Nooroo just how happy and excited Marc is from something so simple and small, but he likes it, if something so mundane as to call him bay his name can make Marc this happy, if it is so special for him, then Nooroo is more than happy to do it again, even if it is a hard habit to break, even if he is still not used to it. 

After all, Marc is his friend. 

“Nooroo, wings rise!” 


End file.
